Why do I need a coach?

According to Harvard Business Review, 2 out of 5 new CEO’s fail in their first 18 months. The primary reasons for their failure are not competence, knowledge, or experience, but instead center specifically on ego and a leadership style that is out of touch with modern times. Furthermore, 82% of newly appointed leaders, at any level, derail because they fail to build partnerships with subordinates and peers. Sydney Finkelstein, author of Why Smart Executives Fail, concluded that CEO’s had similar deadly habits of which most were related to unchecked egos and lack of emotional intelligence, EQ.

Executives, and broadly leaders at any level, are reluctant to take feedback unless it comes from a non-judgmental third party such as a professional personal coach. Yet the list of needs for leaders is long and when a CEO contracts with a professional coach, 78.7% of the time it’s the CEO’s idea. This statistic comes from a 2013 Stanford University/Miles Group survey of 200 CEOs, board directors, and senior executives. The survey also identifies the top 12 issues CEO’s seek in coaching. The top 5 biggest development areas CEO’s cite for coaching support are:

Conflict management skills

Sharing leadership/delegation skills

Listening skills

Communication skills

Mentoring/Developing internal talent skills

Executive Chairman of Alphabet Inc. (Google) Eric Schmidt said that his best advice to new CEOs was “have a coach”. Schmidt goes on to say “once I realized I could trust my coach and that he could help me with perspective, I decided this was a great idea…”.

The real question isn’t “Why do I need a coach”, it’s “Why don’t I already have one?”. Contact us to get started today at contactus@6thpower.com or call us at 407-608-0374.